Give up Facebook? For some, unplugging from social media is perfect Lent sacrifice

Saturday

Mar 9, 2013 at 6:00 AMMar 9, 2013 at 9:23 AM

By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

When her son did really well at his wrestling meet recently, Debra Goodsell of Clinton wanted everyone to know, so she resorted to that old-fashioned method of communication: Email.

The meet happened in the early part of Lent, and Mrs. Goodsell, like so many Catholics, had made a difficult sacrifice so she could remember the days leading up to the Crucifixion and the sacrifice Jesus made for her. She gave up Facebook.

“It's so hard because when David does well, I would normally just post it on Facebook,” she said. “But I did send out emails to everyone.”

On Feb. 12, which was Fat Tuesday, she posted a couple of farewell messages, deleted the Facebook app from her phone to avoid any temptation, and logged out.

“Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Lent is one of my favorite times during the year. It is the time when I like to reflect on faith and family. A time for formation. So this Lenten season, I will not be indulging in my favorite pastime, FACEBOOK,” she posted, adding that friends should email her if anything really amazing happened.

Her sister logged off, too, but not too long ago, she broke down and logged in.

Mrs. Goodsell is still holding out.

And so is Gary Peck, a Southbridge firefighter and paramedic who also logged off the social network for Lent.

Like Mrs. Goodsell, he wanted to do something that wasn't easy.

“I gave up soda one year, and that was very easy for me,” he said. “One year I tried to give up caffeinated coffee and I couldn't do it.”

This is the second year he has sworn off the social media site, and he's finding it a bit less challenging.

“Last year it was incredibly hard,” he said, adding that his band, Optical Drive, uses Facebook to list where it is playing. Now, someone else has had to take up that responsibility.

While giving up Facebook may seem like a sacrifice, the Rev. Peter Preble of St. Michael Orthodox Christian Church in Southbridge said sacrifices are not effective unless the one making them is a better person for having done so.

“It has to change your behavior,” he said. “If your plan is to go back to what you were doing before, then it hasn't worked.”

Rev. Preble said he likes the idea that a person who gives up something also adds something. After Lent ends, a person should have been changed for the better as a result of the Lenten journey.

“If you're fasting, you take the money you save and give it to the poor,” he explained.

In the Orthodox Church, parishioners eat no meat for the entire Lenten season, which begins this year on March 18.

“It's strictly vegan for the entirety of Lent,” he said. “If you can get the passion of eating under control, the others will follow.”

Mrs. Goodsell said she'll definitely be a different person when Easter arrives March 31.

While she thought her personal sacrifice would also leave her with a chunk of time each day during which she would read something inspirational, she was wrong.

Still, she's finding time to read the book “Padre Pio and America” and to think about her own spirituality.

“There are some very interesting things I would have never known about in the book,” she said.

For Mr. Peck, the 40 days without Facebook are making him realize he doesn't really need the site as much as he thought. As a paramedic, he sees often people with addiction problems, and he thinks he might have been headed toward an addiction to Facebook.

“What I realize is the things that happen on there aren't as important as I thought they were,” he said. “When Easter rolls around, I feel like I won't want to go on as much.”

Rev. Preble said that while giving up Facebook might be good for some, it's probably not the best sacrifice because it's a form of communication and one he uses as part of his ministry. He doesn't think forgoing communication with others during Lent is such a good idea.

“It's a huge part of my ministry. I use it as an evangelistic tool,” he said. “If people are looking for guidance during Lent and they come to Facebook and I've given it up, it would be like not answering the rectory phone. Then they'll go elsewhere, and they might not get the right answers.”

Contact Kim Ring at kring@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimmring.